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Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby
Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby was the last great British leader of mounted cavalry. He directed the Palestine campaign in World War I.
Lord Allenby, portrait by Eric Henri Kennington; in the National Portrait Gallery, LondonCourtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London -
David Beatty
David Beatty commanded Britain’s battle cruisers in the Battle of Jutland (1916).
Beatty, Sir DavidSir David Beatty.Photos.com/Jupiterimages -
Tasker Howard Bliss
Tasker Howard Bliss directed the American mobilization effort when the United States entered World War I.
Bliss, Tasker HowardTasker Howard Bliss.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. -
Aleksey Alekseyevich Brusilov
Aleksey Alekseyevich Brusilov directed a Russian offensive on the Eastern Front against Austria-Hungary (June–August 1916), which aided the Western allies at a crucial time during World War I.
BrusilovNovosti Press Agency -
Julian Hedworth George Byng
Julian Hedworth George Byng was a British field marshal who conducted the first large-scale tank attack in history (at Cambrai, France, November 20, 1917).
Julian Hedworth George Byng and his wife in 1922.Library and Archives Canada/Rice Studios/Canadian Intellectual Property Office fonds (Negative no. C-033995) -
Luigi Cadorna
Luigi Cadorna completely reorganized Italy’s ill-prepared army on the eve of World War I.
Cadorna, LuigiLuigi Cadorna.Photos.com/Jupiterimages -
Sir Arthur William Currie
Sir Arthur William Currie rose through the ranks from enlisted militiaman to lieutenant general and commander of the Canadian Corps. He was one of the most-gifted general officers in any army during the war.
Currie, Sir Arthur WilliamSir Arthur William Currie, June 1917.Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada (Photo Number: PA-001370) -
Armando Diaz
After the catastrophic Italian defeat at Caporetto (October 1917), Armando Diaz stabilized the Italian army and mounted a strong counteroffensive. His decisive victory at Vittorio Veneto, Italy (October 24–November 3, 1918), signaled the defeat of the Austrian forces.
Diaz, ArmandoArmando Diaz, 1921.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. -
Ferdinand Foch
French general Ferdinand Foch commanded the Allied forces during the closing months of World War I and is generally considered the leader most responsible for the Allied victory.
Ferdinand Foch.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. -
John French
John French commanded the British army on the Western Front between August 1914, when World War I began, and December 1915.
French, John, 1st earl of YpresJohn French, 1st earl of Ypres.George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: LC-DIG-ggbain-22111) -
J.F.C. Fuller
J.F.C. Fuller was a British army officer and military theoretician who became one of the founders of modern armored warfare.
J.F.C. FullerBassano and Vandyk, London -
Joseph-Simon Gallieni
As military commander of Paris, Joseph-Simon Gallieni directed the counteroffensive that checked the German advance at the Marne and saved the French capital.
Joseph-Simon Gallieni.H. Roger-Viollet -
Douglas Haig
Douglas Haig was commander in chief of the British forces in France during most of World War I. His strategy of attrition (tautly summarized as “kill more Germans”) resulted in enormous numbers of British casualties but little immediate gain.
Sir Douglas Haig, portrait by John Singer Sargent; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.Courtesy of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh -
John Rushworth Jellicoe
John Rushworth Jellicoe was a British admiral of the fleet who commanded at the crucial Battle of Jutland (May 31, 1916) during World War I.
Jellicoe, Sir John RushworthSir John Rushworth Jellicoe, 1915.Project Gutenberg -
Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre
Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, commander in chief (1914–16) of the French armies on the Western Front in World War I, won fame as “the Victor of the Marne.”
Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, detail of a portrait by H. Jacquier, 1915.H. Roger-Viollet -
Horatio Herbert Kitchener
As secretary of state for war at the beginning of World War I, Horatio Herbert Kitchener organized armies on a scale unprecedented in British history and became a symbol of the national will to victory.
Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener.BBC Hulton Picture Library -
Louis Alexander Mountbatten
As British admiral of the fleet and first sea lord, Louis Alexander Mountbatten was responsible, with Winston Churchill, for the total mobilization of the fleet prior to World War I.
Louis Alexander MountbattenBettmann/Corbis -
Sir John Monash
Sir John Monash was commander of the Australian army corps in France during World War I.
Monash, Sir JohnSir John Monash.National Archives of Australia: A1200, L52834 -
John J. Pershing
John J. Pershing commanded the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe during World War I.
John J. Pershing.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. -
Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain was a national hero in France for his victory at the Battle of Verdun, but he was discredited as chief of state of the French government at Vichy in World War II.
Philippe Pétain.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. -
Radomir Putnik
Radomir Putnik commanded the Serbian army to victory against the Austrians in 1914.
PutnikH. Roger-Viollet -
Hugh Montague Trenchard
Hugh Montague Trenchard helped lay the foundations of the Royal Air Force (RAF).
Trenchard, Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount, Baron Trenchard of WolfetonHugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard; statue in London.Greenshed -
Enver Paşa
Enver Paşa played a key role in the Ottoman entry into World War I on the side of Germany.
Enver PaşaEnver Paşa.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. -
Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von Falkenhayn was Prussian minister of war and chief of the imperial German General Staff early in World War I.
Falkenhayn, Erich vonErich von Falkenhayn, 1916.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin -
Colmar, Freiherr von der Goltz
Colmar, Freiherr von der Goltz was an imperial German field marshal who reorganized the Turkish army (1883–96) and served as commander in chief of Turkish forces against the British in Mesopotamia (Iraq) during World War I.
Colmar, Baron von der GoltzStaatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz -
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg won a crushing victory for Germany on the Eastern Front, but he was unable to translate that success to triumph in the West.
Paul von Hindenburg.Culver Pictures -
Max Hoffmann
Max Hoffmann was the architect of several striking German victories on the Eastern Front in World War I, most notably at the Battle of Tannenberg (1914).
Max Hoffmann, about 1925Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin -
Alexander von Kluck
Alexander von Kluck commanded the First Army in the German offensive against Paris at the beginning of World War I.
Kluck, 1914Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz -
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Ludendorff was mainly responsible for Germany’s military policy and strategy in the latter years of World War I.
Erich Ludendorff, c. 1930.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin -
August von Mackensen
August von Mackensen was one of the most successful commanders in World War I, leading German armies to a string of victories on the Eastern Front.
Mackensen, 1915Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin—Preussischer Kulturbesitz -
Helmuth von Moltke
Helmuth von Moltke’s modification of the German attack plan in the west and his inability to retain control of his rapidly advancing armies significantly contributed to the halt of the German offensive on the Marne in September 1914 and the frustration of German efforts for a rapid decisive victory.
Helmuth von Moltke, c. 1907Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin -
Józef Piłsudski
Józef Piłsudski deftly utilized support from Austria-Hungary and Germany to bring about a postwar independent Poland.
PitsudskiCulver Pictures -
Reinhard Scheer
Reinhard Scheer commanded the German High Seas Fleet at the Battle of Jutland (1916).
Scheer, ReinhardReinhard Scheer. -
Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was the chief builder of the German navy in the 17 years preceding World War I.
Tirpitz, Alfred vonAlfred von Tirpitz, 1915.Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin